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It's Time to Chalk It Up Again

Eric Fredericks • Friday August 29, 2008

Photo from the Chalk It Up Festival in Fremont Park, Sacramento

One of my favorite events in Sacramento is taking place this weekend in Fremont Park– Chalk it Up! Please make sure you check out their website and stop by the event!!

I shot the photo above during the 2006 event. To see more photos, see my Chalk It Up Gallery.

Category: Public Art •• Region: Sacramento •• Comments

Gum Wall in Seattle's Post Alley

Eric Fredericks • Monday June 30, 2008

A wall covered with gum in Seattle's Post Alley near Pike's Market

I haven’t been posting much lately, but I want to start getting in the habit of doing so again. So, here’s a fun way to kick it off… with gum!

A friend of mine just returned from Seattle and showed me some photos of an alley covered in gum. I had visited the same alley before and shot these photos. It’s called Post Alley and it’s located right next to the famous Pike Place Market. It’s quite a site to see, so if you visit Pike Place, make sure you check out Post Alley—there’s more to see than just gum.

Of course, Seattle is an amazing city, and is probably in my top five most walkable cities in the US. Please check out my photos of the Gum Wall and other photos of Seattle (Note: I have hundreds of photos in this photo set that are not yet public, but will release more in addition to these over time).

Category: Culture •• Region: Seattle •• Comments [2]

Help Improve Fremont Park

Eric Fredericks • Friday May 30, 2008

Children playing at the playground in Fremont Park, Downtown Sacramento

Have you ever thought that Fremont Park in Downtown Sacramento is underutilized? Ever thought it could be improved? Now is your chance to make a difference. LivinginUrbanSac has been doing a lot of legwork in putting together a public meeting on Fremont Park improvements. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 11th, 6pm at William Land Elementary School, 2120 12th Street [Map, Event Flyer].

The park has a great children’s playground and several good establishments within a stone’s throw of the park (Mochii Yogurt, Naked Lounge, Nishiki, R15 / Cafe Bernardo, Starbucks, Uncle Vitos, Pronto, etc.). Those of you that are familiar with the park know that it is underutilized, but has great potential. I lived a block from the park when I first moved to Sacramento and now live about 3 blocks away. I mostly use it as a cut through when going to/from Cafe Bernardo. The only other times I’ve gone to the park to actually do something there was for the Chalk It Up Fesitval (which I absolutely love) and the Farmer’s Market. Otherwise, there’s just not been much appeal, probably because nearby Capitol Park and McKinley Park are just fantastic. I do agree with LivinginUrbanSac that the park has amazing potential and I’m excited to see what will happen at this meeting. Councilmember Fong, representatives from CADA and the City, business owners, and neighborhood residents will be attending the meeting. I hope to see you at the meeting and please invite others as well. You can visit LivinginUrbanSac for more info about the meeting or you can continue reading after the jump for more info as well… >>Continue Reading This Article>>

Category: Urban Living •• Region: Sacramento •• Comments

Saturday: A Sneak Peek at LJ Urban's Revolutionary Good Project

Eric Fredericks • Thursday May 22, 2008

LJ Urban, the revolutionary eco-urban development company based here in Sacramento, is opening their Good Project this Saturday (5/24) for a sneak peek. The project is open from 10-2 at 4th and B Streets in West Sacramento.

I think it’s fair to call what they’re doing revolutionary because it’s unlike any project undertaken before. Sure, eco-friendly and green building is the new vogue. And yes, this isn’t the first urban project to go up in the redeveloping waterfront of West Sacramento. But, it’s probably the first project in the country that with each house sold trains a new Burkina Faso mason to build houses for families that need them. They are also cutting edge in the sustainable development world as one of the first LEED-ND certified projects completed in the country. And, they are not going to do the traditional billboard and media advertising like most companies do, nor will they have an on-site salesperson. They are going to host educational dinners, community movie nights, blogging, and the other events they’ve already been doing, rather successfully in my opinion.

I really hope this works for them and they have continued success. There’s probably no company that deserves it more.

This is also a big event because of the recent passing of Jason Presley, their marketing guru and friend of mine. I’ve been in contact with LJ Urban owner Levi Benkert and he’s told me it’s been a really emotional time for him because everywhere he looks, Jason is there. This is not the only traumatic event that Levi’s been through recently. I don’t want to spoil it, so you can read Levi’s heart-wrenching stories here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. The stories are definitely worth your time to read. There are some shocking things to read in this, even if you’ve never met Levi before.

You can get more information on the sneak peak and the Good Project by watching the video above, visiting LJ Urban’s website, or continuing to read this article (after the jump). Did I mention that there’s food and live music involved?
>>Continue Reading This Article>>

Category: Urban Living •• Region: Sacramento •• Comments [1]

Amazing Street Reclamation in Wodonga, Victoria

Eric Fredericks • Monday May 12, 2008

David Engwicht is truly a magician, as this excellent Streetfilm by Clarence Eckerson Jr. demonstrates. If you’re never seen him speak before—he’s quite good and very entertaining. I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like him and probably never will again. In a good way!

Wodonga, Victoria in Australia, is just across the Murray River from Albury, New South Wales. Albury is perhaps more glamorous than its sister city across the river, but they are both pretty much like your typical smaller Midwestern cities from what I recall of my brief visit there in 2002. That’s what makes what they’re doing in Wodonga so special: any place in the world can do what they’ve accomplished. It just takes some willpower. Many cities and towns do something like this once per year. Lucky ones can accomplish this once per month. Why not strive for once per week in your community like Wodonga does?

Category: Third Places •• Region: Australia •• Comments

Kunstler on Colbert!

Eric Fredericks • Monday May 5, 2008

I was shocked when I read this. Two of my favorite satirists head to head on the same program? Absolutely classic! Kunstler was on to promote his new book World Made by Hand, a fictional story that takes place in the future—a future without oil. Sounds like an intriguing book.

Take a comic relief break and watch the video. [Via Veritas et Venustas]

Category: Peak Oil •• Region: United States •• Comments

May is Bike Month

Eric Fredericks • Thursday May 1, 2008

Cyclists on the Santa Monica Beach bike path

Don’t forget to log your cycling miles this May… it’s once again time for Bike Month. Those biking in the Sacramento region can log them in at MayisBikeMonth.com. We fell just short of the 1,000,000 mile goal last year.

Sadly, I’m only pledging 100 miles so far because I need a new bike. My current bike is an older retro Peugeot road bike and is just too uncomfortable to ride for long distances. I’m in the market for a folding bike (I think) so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

I shot this photo at the Santa Monica Beach bike path in Southern California. This is easily one of the best places to bike in the world.

Category: Bicycling •• Region: General •• Comments

Complete Streets and Tree Legislation Worth Watching

Eric Fredericks • Friday April 25, 2008

A complete street in Sacramento Midtown - bike lanes on both sides of a one-way street

US Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and US Representative Doris Matsui (D-California… Sacramento to be exact) have introduced two important walkability-related bills to the US Congress.

Senator Harkin introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2008 (S. 2686) which would require states and MPOs to establish complete streets policies and apply them to federally-funded projects. The bill clarifies what a complete streets policy should contain. The legislation would also strengthen research and technical assistance on complete streets. Complete the Streets has put together an excellent information fact sheet about the bill, why it’s needed, and what you can do to help get it passed. You can download that document here.

Representative Matsui introduced the Energy Conservation Through Trees Act of 2008 (H.R. 5867). The legislation requires the use of science-based tree-siting guidelines to ensure that trees are not planted in locations that will disrupt pre-existing infrastructure, block solar panels and wind turbines, or damage power lines. The legislation would also require utilities that receive assistance to partner with nonprofit tree-planting organizations or other municipal infrastructure groups to run the technical side of the program. These nonprofit groups are meant to serve as tree-planting experts to complement utilities’ financial interest in lowering peak energy demand and reducing consumption. They will provide technical and outreach assistance, work with tree recipients, and ensure that trees are planted in the right place to maximize energy conservation.

Obviously, both of these bills would be huge step in the right direction for providing better walking and biking facilities in the United States.

The policy guidance in the Complete Streets bill is pretty powerful and would attempt to close some of the gaps in current State DOT policies and practices—something that we’ve struggled with here in California, even though from my experience we have some of the most progressive policies in the country. The bill text is probably about the strongest they could make it and still have it pass. The bill does discuss penalties for non-compliance with its provisions. I would imagine that a penalty for non-compliance would be to withhold Federal funds, though I doubt it would go that far. The policies will not be the hardest part to implement. I think that practical implementation of those policies, once incorporated, will be the challenge.

The tree legislation is modeled after the successful programs from the Sacramento region. I think that most residents of and visitors to Sacramento would agree that its beautiful trees are its best asset. I’ve visited hundreds of cities around the world and have never seen a more impressive tree canopy than what exists in Sacramento’s urban core. Any legislation that models what’s been accomplished here can only be a good thing.

UPDATE 5/1: Doris Matsui introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2008 in the US House of Representatives last week as well.

Here are some additional resources on this legislation:

Iowa’s Senator Harkin Introduces Complete Streets Act – Streetsblog
Complete Streets bill introduced in the Senate – Smart Growth America Blog
House Bill Would Use Trees to Reduce Energy Use – American Forests

Special thanks to Connie Gallippi for the heads up on the Matsui legislation!